Viola Davis

Viola Davis is a critically acclaimed, award-winning actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author. With her 2023 Grammy Award for her narration of her memoir, "Finding Me," she earned EGOT status, having been one of few artists to have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

While she has acted in theater, on television and in films for decades, Davis found Hollywood success and fame later in life. She became the first woman of color to win the Best Lead Actress in a Drama Emmy Award for her role in "How to Get Away With Murder," for which she also won a Screen Actors Guild Award. She won multiple awards and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the film adaptation of August Wilson's "Fences," a role that also garnered her a Tony Award. She has also received a Tony Award for her performance in “King Hedley II.”

Among her many accolades, Davis has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscar nominations for the films "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "The Help," and "Doubt;" won a total of five Screen Actors Guild Awards; and has also received nominations for six Golden Globes Awards and three British Academy Film Awards, winning one of each. For her stage work, she has won two Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, an Obie Award, a Theater World Award and Drama Critics’ Circle and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Davis and her husband Julius Tennon are the founders of JuVee Productions, a production company whose focus is to give a voice to the voiceless through strong, impactful, and culturally relevant narratives. The company was instrumental in bringing "The Woman King," a film that tells the story of a general of an all-female West African military, to the big screen.

Davis earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2023, was named by Forbes magazine to their "50 Over 50" list.

A graduate of The Julliard School, Davis received an honorary doctorate during its 109th Commencement Ceremony. She has also received honorary doctorates from her undergraduate alma mater, Rhode Island College, and from Indiana University.